Hello,
I am very appreciative that the Sinclair list gives space to share these
ideas and thoughts about Christmas ie., the Star, the Wise men, and the
birth of our Savior.
Having recently finished the book, "Uriel's Machine" by Knight & Lomas (ISBN
1-86204-810-X), I could not ignore the opportunity to make a brief
additional comment about the time of year attributed to the birth of Jesus.
"We knew that in early times, birthing of humans was as timed just as much
as the production of sheep or crops. Even Jesus was required to fulfill
ancient requirements of birth dates. According to tradition his mother Mary
conceived him precisely on the Spring equinox and he was born at the Winter
solstice (Christmas). He went on to die at the same time of year as his
birth - Spring equinox, and was then reborn at the first Sunday of the full
moon thereafter (Easter). Furthermore, according to the Bible, Jesus's
priestly cousin, John the Baptist, was conceived on the Autumn equinox and
born at the Summer solstice. These astronomical dates for Jesus and John
are not coincidental." See pages 288, 289.
As usual you will NOT be bored by the writings of Knight & Lomas!
Jerry Gibbons templar@net-link.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "Francine Bernier" <f_bernier@videotron.ca>
To: <sinclair@matrix.net>
Sent: Saturday, January 06, 2001 4:46 PM
Subject: Re: Wise Men
> on 06/01/01 03:13, Spirit One Email at laurel@spiritone.com wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I think we should not confuse religious rites and history, even both are
> very much interelated. I have read - but who can prove it? - that Jesus
was
> born in September. And that Christmas, on December 25, was created the
> official Christ birth day in the fourth century by the Pope of the time so
> that it would coincide with other important Jewish rites (Hannuka) and
> remain a low profile celebration... But then I am no expert!
>
> > That may have become a tradition but the Bible indicates that almost 2
years
> > had passed since Jesus' birth when the Wise Men got to Bethlehem. By
then
> > the family was living in a house. (Matt. 2:11) King Herod calls Jesus
"the
> > young child" not a baby (Matt. 2:8) And Herod ordered all the children 2
> > years and under "according to the time which he (Herod) had diligently
> > inquired of the wise men." to be slain. (Matt. 2:16)
> > We also assume there were 3 Wise Men. Really, we only know that there
> > were more than one. One wise man could have carried two gifts or a
number
> > of wise men could have given gold, etc.
> > No names are ever given for them but they all came from the East (Matt.
> > 2:1) presumably from the Babylonian area where records would have
remained
> > from the Jews living there during the captivity. From these texts, the
Wise
> > Men were able to determine the meaning of the "star" . There would
have
> > had to have been 3 different stars to lead each of them from the three
> > different directions at the same time to rendevous in Jerusalem. And
then
> > there is the problem of 3 different languages. The representation of
the 3
> > continents is pure fiction that doesn't fit the Biblical text that
> > specifically says they came from "the East" or make sense with Jewish
> > history.
> > Here's another idea.... It is not likely that Jesus was born in
> > December. Maybe in the fall??. So a year and a half later around
January
> > 6th, the wise men could have come for their visit. Then this date
would
> > fit in, but they did come from the East. And being important people,
they
> > would have had servants, baggage animals, animal drivers, etc.
> > Laurel
> > =====================
> >> [1]Tomorrow:
> >> January 6
> >>
> >> In 3 B.C.: Twelfth Night, The Three Wise Men, Kings, or Magi,
> >> traditionally named Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar, and representing
> >> Europe, Asia and Africa, bring gifts to the baby Jesus, twelve nights
> >> after the birth. Traditionally the night is called Twelfth Night and
> >>
> >
>
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